Leader Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, an skilled baby-kisser of a few years is the Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra State. On this interview with DAILY POST’s David Eleke, he laments that the 2022 amended Electoral Act failed to satisfy the yearnings of the folks. He says the result of Imo and Kogi low season elections display that the rustic has long past again to the outdated recreation. He additionally provides an perception into the 2025 guber election in Anambra State, amongst different problems. Excerpts!
How does APGA price the behavior of elections within the nation via INEC, taking into cognizance the outcry within the ultimate basic elections, along with the low season elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa?
You spot, they are saying even among thieves, there must be honour. Now we have come to some extent on this nation the place among all folks, as political thieves, we must be uninterested in rigging, and there have been expectancies that reforms would result in alternate. After numerous delays within the 2022 electoral act which got here so overdue, many people didn’t have the time to learn it correctly. However there have been issues we concept have been in that electoral act, however the ones issues we concept have been within the electoral acts weren’t there. There have been additionally tips via INEC.
As a legal professional, I am getting disenchanted when positive interpretations are made. The regulation lets in INEC to make sure tips. What’s the criminal impact of INEC tips? An INEC tenet is within the state of a regulation of the Nationwide Meeting. So, when a tenet is made via INEC, pursuant to the electoral act, that subsidiary regulation via INEC could also be regulation.
What have been the ones tips? They informed us the BVAS would paintings, effects could be transmitted electronically, however on the finish, the rule of thumb nonetheless gave INEC the ability to behavior the election in any means. Which means that whether or not handbook, sub-manual, electronically, whichever manner they preferred was once simply excellent. So, I don’t assume we’ve had any reforms, and that’s very disappointing. Each and every baby-kisser is considering reforms. The top turnout within the ultimate elections have been as a result of we have been all fooled that there have been reforms.
So, we’ve long past again once more to the outdated recreation. The result of Imo and Kogi ultimate weekend display we’ve long past again to the outdated recreation. I feel this is a subject that requires the moral sense of the Nationwide Meeting. They’re the one other people that may save us from this case. A few of these issues require particular legislations. 2022 act didn’t make provisions that can ensure loose and honest election, particularly in accreditation of citizens.
We will be able to have issues in transmission on account of deficient energy, cell community, however for accreditation, which doesn’t require any transmission, we must be capable to do this one. Effects collated from no matter stage are effects emanating from the polling unit, so if we get it proper on the polling unit, we will take it from there.
Once more, the Nigeria Police wishes to look itself as a stakeholder within the procedure. In Imo state, the behavior of the police was once merely deficient. A deputy governorship candidate was once shot someplace in Mbano, a policeman was once nearly lynched for snatching poll field. In Kogi State there was once open taking pictures via other people in uniform. So, we will have to all come in combination as stakeholders. The political magnificence, govt, safety and all, there’s a want for us to just accept that we will have to transfer ahead as a country. It isn’t about what has came about however what’s someday. In a different way, the rustic will crash sooner or later.
Prior to now, APGA used to have as many as 25 seats within the Space of Meeting out of 30, however within the ultimate election, you had most effective 16. What’s your self assurance that you’re going to carry out higher within the subsequent election?
I’ve self assurance that we will do higher. Really, right through the ultimate management, we were given as much as 27 seats at some extent, however this time round, we were given 16, earlier than the present speaker joined us. A part of why we misplaced a few of the ones seats have been the issues I had known earlier than. The sham primaries we carried out. We had numerous inside problems. Maximum of those that have been aggrieved didn’t depart the social gathering, they stayed inside the social gathering and labored in opposition to the social gathering. That was once how we misplaced. We had scenarios the place our participants have been campaigning for the opposition social gathering. We’re satisfied that numerous our participants are again. Maximum participants of PDP who have been with me when I used to be the chairman there have come to us, and I will let you know that anybody who remains to be in PDP isn’t in any social gathering as of late.
Then the Labour Birthday party, a few of them are with us. Maximum participants of that social gathering have understood that the feelings of the Labour motion does now not look like one thing that can ultimate lengthy. I will let you know that issues can by no means be worse than they have been earlier than. So long as we’ve credible primaries, the election in Anambra received’t be an issue for APGA, and I will guarantee you on that.
Anambra is actually APGA and the folks of Anambra nonetheless consider in APGA and we’re getting extra assured daily, and the governor is operating a lot more than we anticipated and now and again we generally tend to disregard that he’s not up to two years in administrative center. His achievements are already competing with the ones of people who find themselves 4 years. So his achievements will make the election really easy for us to win.
Two former governorship applicants within the ultimate election have rated your governor very low. One is Obiora Okonkwo and the opposite is Ifeanyi Ubah. So what have you ever to mention about this?
Let me get started with my brother, Obiora Okonkwo. I’m beginning with him as a result of I do know him too neatly, and I do know with each kindness to him that he must rebuild his political occupation. He ran for governorship and misplaced very woefully in my neighborhood. He had 103 votes and APGA were given 1,188 votes. The ones days we can say that he misplaced his deposit in Ogidi, his personal neighborhood. Many of us can say it came about as a result of he ran below the unsuitable social gathering, which was once Zenith Labour Birthday party, however what came about within the ultimate presidential and nationwide meeting election is what is going to retire any severe baby-kisser. He was once the DG of PDP presidential candidate, and PDP didn’t win even one polling unit in Ogidi ward one and two, together with his polling unit. After that, he disappeared and he’s now castigating our governor. I don’t take him severely. He has so much to fix and he has to return again house to fix the wear and tear he has achieved to his political occupation.
Once more, if he is considering governorship, it method he has learnt not anything from the outdated errors. A part of the outdated mistake was once that governorship was once zoned to the south, however he insisted on operating, even if he’s from the central zone. His social gathering gave it to the south senatorial zone and he left for Zenith Labour Birthday party. Now we have a convention of zoning, and it will have to be sustained. That custom can’t be stopped as a result of we’ve the likes of Obiora Okonkwo. He’s a tender guy, he can also be affected person and his time will come. The South will rule for 8 years, earlier than it involves the Central and that’s when we can start to concentrate to other people like Obiora Okonkwo. For now, it isn’t the flip of Central, we’re looking ahead to the South to finish their tenure.
Again to the South the place the likes of Ifeanyi Ubah is coming from. Nonetheless at the foundation of zoning, it’s going to be cheating for him to mention he’s coming in to finish the 4 years of south earlier than the rotation continues. Now we have a governor from the south already, and he’s doing rather well. For Anambra other people, we’d moderately he completes his 4 years, in order that the rotation is continued with out interruption. It could be a possibility to present it to someone else from the south, as a result of he would need a 2nd time period.
However once more, the similar Ubah you discussed was once at a the town corridor assembly in Abuja and he recommended Soludo, pronouncing that he’s doing rather well. He even mentioned he wish to be Soludo’s marketing campaign supervisor. I understand that via going into APC, Senator Ubah has gotten his debt cleared and his court docket circumstances got rid of. I admire the transfer, however this is a private transfer and now not for Anambra other people.
Past that, the approaching race could be in line with the efficiency of Soludo. In two years we’re all truly inspired. Now we have so much to speak about the ones initiatives the governor is doing when the time comes. Dr Okonkwo does now not see the 400 kilometres of roads the governor is doing in several portions of Anambra, he didn’t see the employment of five,000 academics and the second one segment so as to add further 3,000, he received’t see loose natal and antenatal maintain Anambra girls, he received’t see the loose training. You don’t simply take a seat on your convenience in Abuja and criticise. Let him come house and reconcile with the folks of Ogidi who’ve rejected him. He’s a failed baby-kisser.
You will have been six months in this saddle because the chairman of APGA in Anambra State. Tell us what you have got been doing inside of this time period?
Thank you for reminding me that I’ve been right here for 6 months. It’s been a captivating length and likewise difficult. I can let you know why it’s been difficult. We got here in at a time when the spirit of APGA participants was once reasonably low. We have been scuffling with with many stuff. We’re simply coming in when the results of the ultimate election can’t be mentioned to be the most productive for APGA lately. We by no means had it so low. We were given most effective 16 seats within the Space of Meeting, 4 within the Space of Representatives, and we have been additionally scuffling with with intra-party grievances coming up from the primaries, which had its personal unfavorable impact.
We came upon that reasonably a lot of our social gathering participants labored in opposition to us, coming up from the deficient behavior of the primaries. We additionally had demanding situations coming up from the mindset of the social gathering participants, so we had to paintings at the mindset of the social gathering participants, particularly on now not opening as much as new participants. There have been demanding situations coming up from disunity within the operational construction.
So we began rebuilding, rebranding, repositioning the social gathering to satisfy the imaginative and prescient that the brand new govt wanted. It was once now not simple. We began via going round and visiting primary stakeholders who had deserted us or now not appearing hobby any more. One of the most issues have been from primaries, so we had to persuade them that issues could be achieved otherwise below my watch. So we introduced again the arrogance of the folks.
There have been additionally the grievances of outdated political appointees, of greater than 3,000, consisting of all varieties of other people. Some weren’t gainfully hired, some have been pals to pals, girlfriends to politicians, some lived in London, US, Abuja and plenty of puts within the diaspora.
However the present regime has a brand new imaginative and prescient for political appointees. The existing regime below Governor Soludo believes it’s higher to show other people the way to fish moderately than giving them fish. The outdated political appointees felt that they had been shortchanged. The promise was once that they have been going to be re-engaged, and these kind of have been the crises we met and we had to convey again their self assurance and cause them to keep in mind that the coverage force of Governor Soludo is healthier than what they used to have earlier than.
We gave them examples that Soludo has hired 5,000 academics and that counted for us electorally. The governor additionally began the only adolescence two talents programme. In order that they noticed that this type is healthier. Other people were given cheques for N250,000, N500,000 and extra to head and get started their very own industry. So you spot that it’s higher than incomes salaries because the appointees used to and on the finish of that regime, you might be thrown again into the labour marketplace.
So, that is a part of the rebuilding procedure and other people have begun to turn hobby within the issues of the social gathering. Once more, we’ve additionally began inaugurating more than a few constructions in a brand new means, and probably the most issues we’ve came upon is that it isn’t simply the social gathering executives that you must consider to ship. We shaped out a procedure the place the grassroot individuals who aren’t the everyday social gathering officers can serve as within the affairs of the social gathering.
Now we have scenarios the place palliatives come, and portions of the issue we had up to now was once that those that are the leaders stay these items, so past the executives, we’ve damaged wards into kindreds, and when we’ve issues to proportion, we be sure that each kindred will get it. So those are probably the most issues we’ve been doing.
One excellent factor is that we have got been ready to convey again self-discipline. We misplaced it up to now, so after we got here in, we made up our minds to instil self-discipline, and that is from the highest. I mentioned one thing concerning the operational construction, sure. We additionally suffered that earlier than, however now it’s our coverage that individuals who arise as toughen teams, a few of them aren’t participants of our social gathering, however you will need to that they exist. So that you will have to let them run their organisation and maintain their toughen.
So, all in combination, we mentioned we can rebrand the operational modus, in order that we can have higher team spirit and technique within the operations inside the social gathering and the toughen teams, with the overall wisdom the social gathering stays superb.
Whilst we’re running to succeed in the similar function, the social gathering will have to maintain its supremacy. It has now not been simple, it has now not been what we’re used to. Earlier than, we had toughen teams that have been more potent than the social gathering and higher funded than the social gathering, however now we’re running in combination as a circle of relatives. I all the time inform them, you’re employed as a toughen staff, however we don’t need city guerillas, those that simply get dressed up and are available to Awka and display themselves as toughen teams, however haven’t any constructions, right down to the ward stage. So we’ve requirements through which we will acknowledge you as a toughen staff. If there’s something we’ve been ready to do inside of this era, it’s the truth that we’ve been ready to convey the social gathering again to lifestyles, make it visual as one political circle of relatives, running for one goal and imaginative and prescient, below a revered chief.
By means of subsequent yr, electioneering for the governorship election would start, and with the labour motion, and the Ifeanyi Ubah’s defection to APC, Soludo will have issue in returning as governor. What do you assume?
By means of Labour you imply Valentine Ozigbo, is it now not? Sadly, that title has develop into synonymous with dropping elections. If he contests, he’s going to be contesting in opposition to his homeboy from Aguata (Soludo). As for the ‘Obidient’ guy (Peter Obi), APGA has overwhelmed him two times. We beat him when he introduced a person from Ogbaru, Oseloka Obaze, and we beat him once more when he introduced Val Ozigbo. What came about within the ultimate Obidient Motion is a lesson to Ndigbo and must now not repeat itself. It was once like what came about in 1967, after we went into conflict with Nigeria with out preparation. It isn’t prone to occur to Ndigbo once more. There shall be no Obidient motion within the governorship election as a result of that motion was once tied round an emotion to develop into president of Nigeria. It had not anything to do with Peter Obi as an individual.
At that cut-off date, the Igbos felt it was once their flip, rightly or wrongly. It has come and it has long past, and that issue can by no means come into play once more within the subsequent governorship election. Whether or not Governor Soludo will contest or now not, we can now not put him within the radar but, till that point comes. Now we have additionally informed him as a social gathering to delight pay attention to his excellent governance. His govt is not up to two years, and it isn’t a time to evaluate any one, however we’re positive from his programmes that after it’s time for campaigning, against the top of subsequent yr, maximum of what he has began will crystallise.
Once we start to see the community of roads that will transfer from Amansea, come thru Okpuno, and a flyover, which might be coming earlier than the election, after we see the dualisation from Amawbia right down to Uga, with a flyover, which turns to Isuofia against Nnobi, the folks would know who to vote.
Like my governor all the time says, simply wait and spot. See what is going on in Onitsha south and the choice of roads bobbing up. Now we have sat down with him (Soludo) and requested him how he intends to succeed in positive issues and he has informed us that via this time subsequent yr, no person in APGA can have the arrogance to return out and contest for the price tag in opposition to him.